Superior Court Judges

Jurisdiction

The Superior Court is the general jurisdiction trial court in the State of Georgia, handling both civil and criminal cases, and has exclusive, constitutional authority over felony criminal cases, divorce cases, cases seeking equitable relief, and cases regarding titles to land.

In addition, the Superior Court has some appellate jurisdiction from courts such as Magistrate court and Probate court. The Superior Court of Paulding County also handles misdemeanors as well as traffic cases for which a jury trial is demanded by the person accused.

Judges

Superior Court judges are elected by the voters to four-year terms in nonpartisan, circuit-wide races. To qualify as a Superior Court judge, a person must be at least 30 years of age, must be a citizen of Georgia for at least three years, and must have practiced law for at least seven years.

If a Superior Court judge retires with at least 10 years of service as a judge, then he or she may take senior status (become a Senior Judge).

Currently, the Paulding Judicial Circuit has one Senior Judge. Senior Judges may preside in cases in any circuit of the State of Georgia at the request of a local judge, an administrative judge, or the governor.